“Thereupon the Buddha emitted a ray of light from the white curls between his eyebrows, and illumined all the corners of eighteen thousand world in the east down to the Avichi Hell of each world, and up to the Akaistha Heaven of each world.” Lotus Sutra, Chapter I
In this selection we are made aware of the phenomena the assembly present at Mount Sacred Eagle witnessed the Buddha perform. Not only were these places illuminated but also those assembled were able to saw the Buddhas of those worlds and the people in those worlds carrying out Buddhist practices. This is quite a wonderful thing to consider.
Not only did the ray of light illuminate far away places it also made it possible for people to see the great distance and witness people in those worlds doing Bodhisattva practices.
The really remarkable thing about this is we all have an equal capacity to do this same thing. We are naturally awed and perhaps inspired by the Buddha being able to do such wonderful things. In our awe are we oblivious to our own ability?
I think there are two ways to consider this ray of light. One is the fact that it illuminates other worlds, the other is reveals the practices of others. Thinking about our very own lives, it might be interesting to consider what our personal beam of light is doing.
How is your life illuminated and how are the lives of others in your environment illuminated? It is possible to shine the light of enlightenment on the things that surround you. I am not sure if you have ever played around with colored lights, perhaps you have.
When I was in the Marine Corps for a brief while I lived in a barracks that had individual four man rooms. In one of my friend’s room he had painted everything in the room red with blue speckles. The only light in the room was a red light, which made the red painted object almost vanish, and the blue speckles turn almost black and were really apparent. It was a rather ‘trippy’ effect, which was the intent. In white light we are able to register all of the colors available to the unaided eye. However, under colored light the effect is certain colors are no longer visible.
As we go through your daily activities I wonder what is the color of the light that illuminates the world around you? What is there in your environment that you are unable to see because you have a filter over the light emitting from your life? Depending upon the filter you observe life through what you witness and experience will be affected. If you have an angry filter on then everything will fit the pattern of seeming to cause you to be angry. But in reality it is the way you are reacting to the experiences you are a part of but are only seeing a selected spectrum of events.
We can choose which filter to observe our environment with. Our Buddhist practice even allows us to witness our environment through the lens of the Buddha, which enables us to see and experience the Buddha land that surrounds us. You might say that Buddhist practice lifts all the filters through which we make observations, assessments, and judgments about our experiences.
Now thinking about how the beam of light illuminates so many realms when it is emitted from the Buddha’s brow, we can ask ourselves who do we illuminate the world around us. Do we bring the light of enlightenment into other people’s lives or do we cast a shadow?
When we have interactions with others do we light up their lives or do we cause darkness to descend upon them? Think about what the feelings you project onto people. We have a choice as to whether when we look at people we wish them good or we wish the ill will. We can even influence the response of their life with ours.
Being able to see the Buddha in others with the illumination of Buddha in our lives is a wonderful experience that is possible for us. It is possible to bring great joy into the lives of other people and enable them to awaken to their own Buddha potential.
It isn’t always necessary to tell people about Buddhism and your Buddhist practice. When someone recognizes the joy they experience because of your presence, or the kind words you share with them, or the concern you express for their life and well being, when the experience that compassion, they automatically praise the Buddha in you, even if they are unaware of it.
By praising the Buddha in you it awakens the Buddha in them, which will manifest at some point in the future. We are practicing the Buddhism of sewing when we plant such seeds as those. Nichiren said the Lotus Sutra practice in the ages after the death of the Buddha is the practice of the Buddhism of sewing.
It is possible for us to see into the lives of others to witness their sufferings, their pains, their disappointments, their frustrations, their joy and their happiness. We have the ability to open our lives up to the connections with other people which will enable us to share the results of our Buddhist practice with others in a life-to-life way.
Consider the way in which your life illuminates the world around you, and consider the manner in which you illuminate the lives of others. We all have unlimited potential, we only need to awaken to it and manifest it in our lives.
I hope you will ponder this as you go about your daily activities. I wish you well in this upcoming week.
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Now it’s your turn. Please feel free to leave your comments.
